TIA New Signing

Overall not a bad result, but it would have been nice to take an advantage over to Munich. However, we've been there before and got a result and we can do it again. Bayern played surprising well and were effective at keeping any gilt edged chances for us to a minimum. They were also quick to get back into defensive positions when we came forward. They are also good at the darker arts and on numerous occasions just did enough to put our players off without committing serious infringements. In that respect they reminded me of Chelski under Mourinho. Bayern will have to be more attacking at home, which will give us more space to attack. How we best exploit this remains to be seen but at least with vvD back our defence should be rock solid. Now to prepare for what could the defining match of the premiership against the mancs.

TIA Youth Team

Twice now, we’ve had 10 - 14 day breaks between games, followed by under par performances. The evidence is there for all to see, players lose their match sharpness, achieved by playing 1 or 2 games a week. So, the question is, what were the benefits of flying off to Dubai and Spain, apart from warmer weather? None, as far as I can see.

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Twice now, we’ve had 10 - 14 day breaks between games, followed by under par performances. The evidence is there for all to see, players lose their match sharpness, achieved by playing 1 or 2 games a week. So, the question is, what were the benefits of flying off to Dubai and Spain, apart from warmer weather? None, as far as I can see.

TIA New Signing

It's not a bad result although a goal here for us would definitely help us in the second leg which will make them more predictable in terms of behaviour.

The last thing we need is a period of extra-time especially when it becomes a 0-0 and a penalty shootout. If we scrape through by the shootout, it is great but possibly at a cost of additional fatigue. If we screw up the shootout, it will be a total disaster by all accounts.

Chances are we may even see a more defensively minded Bayern at their stadium as they may think a penalty shootout will be their best chance of progressing. They know that we are a bit off offensively due to that training camp, but once we get to their place, our match fitness and sharpness will be back to its best. If they were to go all gung-ho offensive, we will tear Hummels ,Sule and Rafinha to shreds during 90 minutes.

If we were to compare our midfield, they do have better technical players in James and Thiago and a defensive shield in Javi Martinez. However, that is hardly an industrious midfield. A Fabinho, Keita and Gini midfield will be a good balance of technique, industry ,defensive nous and creativity which is a good platform for our front three to not worry too much defensively. If Javi gets crocked from now till we meet them, they are fucked.

Our defence is one of the best in Europe when it is at full strength. VVD himself could help win us matches. Our LB is the best in the league while our RB is one of the best in the league. Lovren on his day is immense. The key thing here is to ensure none of our defenders gets crocked in the league especially our full-backs whom we don't really have a natural back-up to them.

All in all, the key thing here is that our team must start fast, score fast and then let Bayern tire their old asses out chasing the game.

TIA New Signing

Like others have said, coming into this match w/ a makeshift back line, keeping a clean sheet was an accomplishment.

Hendo and Fabinho were joint MOTM for me, both were immense. Keita continuing to grow, had a good game overall, as did Gini.

Front 3 was not quite up to snuff. Bobby had some great stuff early, but could see him fade due I’m sure to effects of the virus he’s recovering from. Mane had the best chances but was the most wasteful. Salah was surprisingly quiet, Hummels and Alaba on that side really did a good job defending.

In general, it was a mix of good last ditch defending by Bayern, plus sometimes our last pass or finishing being off, or simply taking one touch/pass too many when getting off a quicker shot would’ve been better.

Subs were disappointing. Thought this was a game calling out for super sub Shaqiri, don’t know if he’s lacking fitness in coming back for injury or just fell out of favor, but thought his creativity and long range shot would’ve done more for us than Origi and his general aimlessness.

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After deliberating on last night's performance, Im starting to think we need a bit more from our number 9. As ever his approach play was really good but again no shots and no goals from him either. Really starting to think if we need a new CF and bring him back into the 10 role. Wrong thread maybe, but Fabinho was immense and looked far more composed than Matip. Henderson was positive which was good to see. Thought Keita again is improving game by game and Mane was the most threatening of our front line which has been the case since the turn of the year.
I am hopeful for the second leg as I think we'll score at their patch.

But if we improve every game now till the end of the season, we’ll win the fkin lot. It’s not about the short term till the short term involves finals and winning the league. Last night was neither a poor performance or a bad result. It was an amazing defensive display (given the players on the pitch) and a result that puts qualification squarely in our lap. Score in Germany, easy.

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After deliberating on last night's performance, Im starting to think we need a bit more from our number 9. As ever his approach play was really good but again no shots and no goals from him either. Really starting to think if we need a new CF and bring him back into the 10 role. Wrong thread maybe, but Fabinho was immense and looked far more composed than Matip. Henderson was positive which was good to see. Thought Keita again is improving game by game and Mane was the most threatening of our front line which has been the case since the turn of the year.
I am hopeful for the second leg as I think we'll score at their patch.

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Reports of Bayern's defence being shite were way off the mark, they seemed to get a toe to everything. Reckon we'll score there though and that will be a problem for them.
Can't fault any of the lads tonight although Allison really needs to stop fucking about before he costs us another goal. Hard to call a MOTM, gave it to Fabinho who I thought didn't look out of place at CB against quality opposition.

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Twice now, we’ve had 10 - 14 day breaks between games, followed by under par performances. The evidence is there for all to see, players lose their match sharpness, achieved by playing 1 or 2 games a week. So, the question is, what were the benefits of flying off to Dubai and Spain, apart from warmer weather? None, as far as I can see.

It's tricky to know how to answer this. Ideally we would have come back from Dubai and had two Prem wins, not two draws. Ideally we would have come back from Spain and beat Bayern Munich at home.

Did the break make us lose some rhythm? Maybe.
Did the break put some petrol in the tank to go the whole season? Maybe.

I'm not willing to nail my colors to the mast either way. Arguably we should have lost against West Ham, so maybe the break helped us gain a point more? And the Bayern Munich result is very much still 'game on.' They are a European giant and they know their way around this competition. It would have been nice to win at home, but it wasn't to be. The silver lining is we kept them out with a makeshift defence, so any win or score draw in Munich will see us through.

The bottom line for me is that I have to trust the sports science people who monitor the players. They have lots of data to hand, and if they think some warm weather training will help, I can't argue with that. Since we got knocked out of the domestic cups we had a break anyway, so whether we were training in Liverpool or in sunnier climes, the risk of losing our rhythm was down to getting knocked out of the cup, not the location of training.

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Yeah but it was a special moment (zero skill as such other than right place right time, following in etc.).

The Wolves goal was ok I guess but it hadn't even registered in my memory so I cant say there was anything special about it (in my opinion)

Thing is, I just don't think he's anywhere near good enough. Several loans have proved completely unfruitful. He was exposed to different levels, tactics and styles of football and didn't really impress in any of them. He just does not look like the same player that was in the World Cup all those years ago.

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Our last competitive match was Bournemouth, when we looked half decent. Then we had another long break.

Before that, a couple of forgettable draws and a defeat in the cup. With another holiday break thrown in there too.

We haven't really had much footy of note in the past 4-6 weeks it seems. Not opitmal going up against the 90 times German Champions. I mean, who else wins their league ever?

Our 4th and 5th choices at Centre Back. You cant argue with the result we got, and a big plus they have not scored.

Lack of sharpness showed in our finishing. Not sure we'd have been better of to give the FA Cup a bit of a run if only to keep the sharpness.

It wasn't unusual to see us struggle, if I am being honest. Not really that fussed about us pissing about in the sun while other teams are going about their business. For me, the time off showed, and I fear we might see it again on the weekend.

Also thought the crowd was a little subdued last night. Almost as if they too are not sure what to expect from our lot at times. Very nervy atmosphere. Certainly is an air of uncertainty about our play lately. Different from last year when I felt we could batter anyone who came to Anfield.

Be a pretty decent effort we make it to the next round, and get some sort of result from the weekend. Personally think we are struggling.

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Our lads forgot how to score. We focused so much on defending in the camp apparently there was no attacking nous to carry forth. Could have been worse but 0-0 is not an exciting scoreline by any stretch. Now we need to give them the business on their home field. If we nick a goal early, that will put massive pressure on them. That's what we should plan to do.

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We are not sharp, and our preparation for the Bayern game was a couple of long FA Cup breaks, a win against Bournemouth and a couple of very dodgy looking draws. Wasn't optimal.

Our league and CL positions are tenuous, and we are deffo not firing on all cylinders. Last years side would have been 3 up by half time last night. I am just not getting the same feeling this year, despite our league position. United being in good form hasn't helped the jitters.

Anything But Normal

Watched the game again, tbh, this is a decent result.
And we don't really need to win at their turf. A goal scoring draw would do.
If our front 3 do create chances like they did, I think we would give Bayern problems.
Can't wait for the scums now.

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Long term .....so does mean they will be in tip top condition when they start their summer holidays, or for the 2020-21 season, or maybe they won’t need a little blue pill when they are in their late 50s.

I can’t ever remember coming home from a holiday feeling refreshed or raring to go. I’m usually fucked and it takes a while to get back into the swing of things at work. I guess their situation is more like travelling with work for a week, but even then it takes a while to get back into the swing of family life, spending time with the kids and missis, new time zones and different weather.

Adding in the risk of picking up germs abroad, or at airports, or on the plane via air con, it’s hard to see why they don’t hole up nearer home and ban the press.

If Bobby does have a virus I’m glad that we played at home last night. If he’d taken it into a plane, they would all have it (again) by now.

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It's tricky to know how to answer this. Ideally we would have come back from Dubai and had two Prem wins, not two draws. Ideally we would have come back from Spain and beat Bayern Munich at home.

Did the break make us lose some rhythm? Maybe.
Did the break put some petrol in the tank to go the whole season? Maybe.

I'm not willing to nail my colors to the mast either way. Arguably we should have lost against West Ham, so maybe the break helped us gain a point more? And the Bayern Munich result is very much still 'game on.' They are a European giant and they know their way around this competition. It would have been nice to win at home, but it wasn't to be. The silver lining is we kept them out with a makeshift defence, so any win or score draw in Munich will see us through.

The bottom line for me is that I have to trust the sports science people who monitor the players. They have lots of data to hand, and if they think some warm weather training will help, I can't argue with that. Since we got knocked out of the domestic cups we had a break anyway, so whether we were training in Liverpool or in sunnier climes, the risk of losing our rhythm was down to getting knocked out of the cup, not the location of training.

Well, you could argue what is the good of having a rested squad that needs to stay sharp and win games. Whats the point being rested in April, if your league and champions league chances are dashed in March?

We shall see. If we go and lose in Munich, and lose on the weekend, as a result of an apparent lack of clinical sharpness (3 or 4 decent chances squandered in that first half last night), then I'd say the mission to rest players may have failed. Sports experts notwithstanding.

I am not sure there is a precedent in sport that suggests taking a 10 day break benefits a team's match accuracy. Never mind two of them. As for injuries, we still have them, despite these prolonged "rests".

I think we have struggled in more games than we care to admit this season, and hope I am not witnessing it all unravel. Think we rather needed to keep playing. Very tricky visit to Old Trafford on the weekend, and a defeat there might really break the teams confidence.

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What was apparent to me every time he touched the ball last night is that Bobby is probably our only player who is confident and skilled enough to retain possession in tight situations, and not lose possession. His close quarter ball skills are a delight to behold. He is a mile above any other player we have in this regard. Some other players rather struggled at times losing possession etc., and felt the occasion. Whenever it went to Bobby, I felt confident he'd sort it out. Thought him excellent for his time on the field.

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Well, you could argue what is the good of having a rested squad that needs to stay sharp and win games. Whats the point being rested in April, if your league and champions league chances are dashed in March?

We shall see. If we go and lose in Munich, and lose on the weekend, as a result of an apparent lack of clinical sharpness (3 or 4 decent chances squandered in that first half last night), then I'd say the mission to rest players may have failed. Sports experts notwithstanding.

I am not sure there is a precedent in sport that suggests taking a 10 day break benefits a team's match accuracy. Never mind two of them. As for injuries, we still have them, despite these prolonged "rests".

I think we have struggled in more games than we care to admit this season, and hope I am not witnessing it all unravel. Think we rather needed to keep playing. Very tricky visit to Old Trafford on the weekend, and a defeat there might really break the teams confidence.

On the other hand, we have looked blunt at times in the attack for quite a while now - and continuing playing was not an option once knocked out of the cups. The rest was not optional, it was just a matter how best to use the time. Not sure that the warm weather mini-camp accomplished much, but in previous years sticking around Melwood hasn't helped much either.

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On the other hand, we have looked blunt at times in the attack for quite a while now - and continuing playing was not an option once knocked out of the cups. The rest was not optional, it was just a matter how best to use the time. Not sure that the warm weather mini-camp accomplished much, but in previous years sticking around Melwood hasn't helped much either.

I reckon I am from the camp that says field you best sides all year, try to win all the cups and matches you can, and worry about injuries when/if they inevitability happen. Sick of us losing to duff teams in cup matches if I am being brutally honest. We have been forced to hang around (with days off) because we put a half arsed effort into the cup.

There a probably plenty sports psychologist will tell you it is difficult to switch the form button off and back on. We gave the FA cup a pass for obvious reasons. And have had about 3-4 weeks away from competitive footy because we did.

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What was apparent to me every time he touched the ball last night is that Bobby is probably our only player who is confident and skilled enough to retain possession in tight situations, and not lose possession. His close quarter ball skills are a delight to behold. He is a mile above any other player we have in this regard. Some other players rather struggled at times losing possession etc., and felt the occasion. Whenever it went to Bobby, I felt confident he'd sort it out. Thought him excellent for his time on the field.